Fly Away
by Bagel-chan
Summary: When a murderer strikes a nearby college campus, it will take everyone at the Precint to solve this one. CastlexBeckett supported. I own nothing. Chapter Two is up!
1. Chapter 1

I had so much fun writing this… I hope you all enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle the random friends and Roommate are just names. The song is not even mine. I just used it for inspiration.**

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_It's just another crime scene_ she thought as she made her way from the parking lot to the front doors. She scoffed at the thought _yeah of a college student. _As soon as the front doors open she groaned. It was packed with people, college residents and police. Slowly she pushed her way through the crowd. Getting to the front desk she flashed her badge and they let her through with a wave. Glad to be out of the crowd she continued until she came to stairs. Unsure where she should go, she took out her phone and began to dial Esposito's number.

"Hey there you are!" an annoying familiar voice called above her. She looked up to see a man standing above her, his brown hair ruffled in everywhich way and his jacket slung over one of his arm.

"Castle what are you doing up there?" she asked secretly happy that the brown haired blue eyed man had coffee in his hands.

"The Vic is up here, and when you called you sounded urgent," he answered simply. She sighed, hiding a blush that had rose onto her cheaks, and climbed the stairs. Richard Castle met her on the second floor and handed her the coffee. She sipped it feeling the warm liquid going down her throat causing an almost rare moment of pure bliss.

"Beckett," another voice said jerking her back to reality. She saw the two men that she was the boss of coming towards her.

"Hey Esposito, Ryan" she said acknowledging both them.

"You are going to want to take a look at this," Esposito said leading her and Castle down a hallway. They entered the first room on the right. The first thing that she noticed was her friend Lanie Parish was standing next to the body. The second thing that she noticed was that the body throat was wrapped around a noose that hung from the ceiling.

"What do we have?" Beckett asked going over next to Lanie.

"Morning to you too Kate," Lanie said annoyed. But before Kate could say anything back, Lanie said, "120 lb girl who is a freshman here, her name is Jayme Porter. That's her roommate over there and a couple of her friends," Esposito said. She glanced over at them; they all had tears in their eyes except for the men.

"What is the COD?" she asked carefully scanning the body for any clues that Lanie could have missed.

She heard the Medical Examiner sigh before saying, "the noose makes it look like it had killed her but it was actually something else." She looked at Lanie as she removed the girls head from the noose and pointed to a bruising that went around most of her neck.

_She was strangled! _She realized with horror but before she could say anything Castle's voice confirmed what was on her mind.

"She was strangled?"

_As usual, our brains are on the same wavelenght.._she thought.

Kate looked behind her and found him inches from her. Her heart shot off at a mile a minute, and she felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks. Luckily it was cold so her cheeks were already red to begin with. To make matters worse he made eye contact with her, his blue eyes staring into her green ones. She was the one who broke eye contact and turned back to Lanie who was smiling.

"Yes she was strangled, by someone," Lanie confirmed smiling at the pair. Kate knew that she was the cause of the bet that the ENTIRE Precinct had going that was about her and Castle. "If I would have to guess she was killed sometime between 12:30 and 2:00 pm"

"Thank you Lanie," Kate said and walked over to Esposito and Ryan. "Who found her?" she asked scanning along the group of friends.

"Her roommate," Ryan said pointing to one of the girls. Kate took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"Hi my name is Kate Beckett and I am the Homicide Detective that is in charge of this case. Which one of you found her?"

"I-I did," One of the girls said, who Kate guessed was her roommate. "I was coming back from class like I usually did and when I walked in there she was in her bed. I thought that she was sleeping so I was quiet. But when one of our friends Davy came in and pointed out the rope that was when I found her…"the roommate could not go on.

"What's your name?" She asked placing a hand upon the girls.

"Hannah Riley," she answered trembling.

"And the rest of you?" she asked

"David Jones"

"Ben David"

"Aryan Felix"

"Ok and when was the last time any of you saw Jayme before this?" Kate asked taking out a small black notebook and writing down their names.

"This morning before I left for classes, around 10:30 am" Hannah said

"Last night, just after she came back from where ever she went it was around 9:05 when she came back," David said.

"Same here," Ben said

"Last night and all the weekend before I was with her at her Aunt's Sisters house, she had invited me to go there because I was having some trouble with my roommates. So she asked me if I wanted to get away from the dorm life for the weekend so I went with her. I saw her just before she went down her hallway."Aryan said.

"Ok, um had she seemed different than she usually did?" Kate asked still taking notes

"How do you mean?" Hannah asked

"Well did she seem scared or stressed?" Castle asked from behind her. Kate looked around and saw him yet again inches from her. _Does he always stand this close to me? How come I have never noticed it before?_

"No she-"began Hannah but she was interrupted by Aryan again.

"She did seem a little worried this morning when I talked to her, around 7:10."

"Why did she call you? Kate asked surprised by this new information.

"Because I wanted to register for classes the second that they opened so and she has an 8:00 class, I think, so she had to get up anyways. I thought that the worry in her voice was because she didn't know if she was going to get the classes that she wanted." Aryan said tears forming in her eyes.

"Thank you, now forgive me for asking but where were you between 12:30 and 2:00 today?" Kate asked.

"In class," All of them said at the same time. Kate smiled at them and said "Thank you." Together she and Castle walked away. Both of them made their way back into the room.

"So our victem knew something was coming or she knew information that scared her,"Kate said.

"yeah but what? and whatever it was it wa enough for her to get killed," said Castle who was walking along side of her.

Once inside of Jayme's room, Kate grabbed the nearest thing that was within her reach. It was her iPod.

"Hun" she said smiling at the song that was currently playing.

"What?" Castle asked and she heard him come up behind her, his breath tickling her skin, sending shivers down her spine. Trying to ignore it, she took out the head phones and the song Fly Away was playing.

"What is this song from?" Castle asked. Kate turned around and gasped.

"You- Seriously?" she asked

"Seriously," Castle answered with a shrug.

"That means Alexis hasn't watched it either… This song is from a movie called Moulin Rouge. It's one of the classics of its time, or so I think" she said with a smile. Castle looked at her thoughtfully but didn't say anything more on the matter.

"The song is on repeat," Kate murmured and placed the iPod in a plastic bag.

"Hey Ryan, Have CSU run a sweep in here and see if our killer left any fingerprints. And Esposito see if you can find out what Jayme was doing this morning. I want to know the people that she talked to."

"You got it Boss," they both said and quickly go to work.

Together she and Castle left the dorm.

XXXXXXX

It was getting dark outside and both of them had a long ride back so Kate decided to meet everyone back at the Precinct. Together they made their way out of the dorm, into the parking lot and into the Precinct's black car. From the second that she started the car Kate knew that this was not going to be a smooth ride. Boy was she right. They had caught almost every stoplight so far and there was a ton of traffic thanks to the Christmas festivities going on around town. They were sitting at yet another stoplight and she was just about to scream when Castles voice caught her attention.

"I feel sorry for Jayme," he was saying. She looked at him sitting next to her watching his facial expressions become darker and miserable by the second. "She will never get to get married, have kids, Grow old…It will be a shock to her parents when they find out. I can't imagine not having Alexis around anymore…" he trailed off. Before she knew it she had taken her hand off of the wheel and intertwined her hand with his and had given it a squeeze. All of the previous thoughts had been cast aside. He looked at her gratefully and he opened his mouth to speak

"Beckett….. Kate-"

But before he could go any farther, horns blared behind her and she saw that the light had finally turned green. She slammed down on the gas pedal they plunged forward. They made the rest of the lights but it was only after she turned that she realized that Castle hadn't let go of her hand.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the Precinct, Castle murmured something about making a phone call and getting a soda to drink. After letting go of her hand (he had rejoined it after they had gotten out of the car) she watched him go before turning around to make sure that no one had seen them. Once she was certain that no one had seen them, she went over to their murder board and began to set it up.

She placed the victim's picture on one side of the board and wrote Jayme Porter under it. Placing the good picture above the name she put the picture of the body next to it and made notes on what she knew. Even though she didn't think it was important she put the iPod on there and wrote _Fly Away- on Repeat_.

_What could it mean… or does it mean anything at all? _She pondered. Suddenly a silver can was being dangled in her vision. She jerked realizing that Castle was standing right behind her. Quickly she held up her hands gratefully.

"One Soda," he said placing it in her hands and sitting next to her. "So Alexis was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner and then watch the movie that you say we have been deprived of."

She looked at him with a smile, "Why Castle when did you make that phone call?" she sarcastically asked.

"When you were setting up the murder board," He answered quite pleased with himself.

"Ok fine Castle, but we need to stop at my apartment to get the movie," she answered rolling her eyes. She watched as he nearly did a happy dance back to his chair. _Wait… what did I just sign myself up for? and did I just inflate his ego? _sheShe pondered. She heard the phone ringing and her hand automaticlyautomatically reach out for it. But it stopped ringing before she could grasp.

"Esposito…yeah…really?...ok than you… bye," she heard him say.

"Yo Beckett, everything is backed up, so go ahead, we will call you if we get anything, but I doubt it," Esposito called from his desk

"Yeah go have fun with Castle, he's at the elevator waiting for you," Ryan said coming over to her other side. She smiled at her two detectives as if to say Thanks, grabbed her coat and ran over to the elevator.

**Ending remarks: So yeah what do you think about it? I promise that the murder gets solved and it's just not all about Castle and Beckett. It would be very un-Beckett like for her to forget about a case.**

**Reviews are welcomed and necessary!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A note to my readers: **A Big thanks to DoctorLuv99, Bella Paige, and Alieh for reviewing this and to all of my story alert people. It was a great motivator for me to get this done! By the Way, Let me clear up a couple of questions that people had. Castle and Beckett are not in a relationship yet. He is just testing the waters because he doesn't want her to flinch away from him. This is also based on Season Three, and Kate doesn't have the boyfriend she has now.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

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Chapter Two

After running to her apartment (she had gotten a new one since her old one blew up and she alsolutly hated this one but when you are living on a New York Cop's Salary you don't have many options.), Kate drove them to Castle's loft. They talked of their new case and the possible theories of who killed Jayme Porter. Castle's theories were the theories of a mystery writer, illusive and wild. She listened to him theorizing sitting on the edge of her seat whenever he came to a suspenseful part.

"It could have been the-" he began but she cut him off.

"Castle, Enough!" she said, but he kept going. Her mind was going numb from all of his theories and she couldnt think straight.

Just when she thought she could take no more, they pulled into the parking lot and they got out. Making sure that she grabbed that movie that was sitting beside her, they made their way to his loft, talking more about the case. Finally they reached the door and Castle was just about to take out his key when the door opened. There stood Castle's red head girl with a huge grin on her face.

"We heard you coming. Do you know you guys are really loud when you talk about a case?" she asked.

"It's nice to see you too Alexis," Kate said hugging her.

"Darling was it them?" another voice called from the other side of the room.

"Mother," Castle acknowledged and walked over to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She laughed and shooed him away.

"Martha you look wonderful!" Kate said with a smile. She walked ove to Martha and gave her a hug, "Did you get the part in the play that you wanted?"

"Yes Darling, thank you so much for asking. You are about the only one besides Alexis who cares to ask!"

"Mother, that is really great!" Castle said trying to be enthusiastic but failing.

"Richard, nice try but you better leave the acting to me," Martha countered. Kate laughed. _I love being here. And they treat me like I am a part of their family! _

"Beckett, would you come help me in the kitchen?" Castle asked her and she looked at him.

"What can't handle dinner on your own? You need someone else to hold your hand?" she asked with a smile on her face. He looked at her in horror.

"You would be surprised with what I can do in the kitchen," he defended and sulked into the kitchen. Kate rolled her eyes and placed the movie on the table and followed him into the kitchen. Before she could ask what he needed help with, she heard Alexis squeal and running towards her. Turning around she saw the red head in front of her breathing heavily.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked. Kate's smile was all that she needed to see before the red head threw her arms around her. "I have ALWAYS wanted to see this! How did you know?"

"Well the case that your dad and I are working on, the deceased had this song playing on her iPod so I figured since your dad had no idea what the song was from, you had no idea, and you have to see this movie," Kate replied hugging the girl as she looked up at her.

"Thanks Dete- Thanks Kate," Alexis said. Smiling, Kate watched as she flipped the movie over in her hands to read the summary on the back. "Dad, Gram, are you going to watch this with us?" she asked.

Kate looked over at Martha, who had been watching the touching scene, frowned and confessed, "Oh I am sorry Darling but I have to go to practice. Another time, I promise."

"It's ok Gram, go you have such a huge part to play, you need to practice," Alexis murmured trying not to sound disappointed. Kate watched her with dismay. Alexis's mother had left her and her dad giving him full custody of his daughter. All that she has ever had was her dad, and although she looked strong on the outside, Kate knew that she needed a motherly figure… and Martha wasn't helping.

"As a matter of fact I have to leave right now," Martha noted and went to the door to get her coat.

"Whoa mother," Castle called from the kitchen as Kate moved over to Alexis and squeezed her shoulders giving her some support. When Alexis looked up at her, Kate saw a small, sad smile escape her lips. "You're not even going to eat the dinner that Alexis had worked so hard to prepare?"

"I would kiddo but I hadn't expected you to come back so late," Martha responded as she fixed herself in the mirror. "I'm sorry darling, another time?"

Kate felt the red head nod and watched as Martha left. As soon as the door closed, Alexis ran from Kate's arms and up the stairs to her room. She looked at Castle who was about to go after her.

"Castle wait, give her a few minutes and you need to calm down. Getting mad at your mother while Alexis is upset is only going to make it worse," she suggested walking over to him. She could tell that he was angry at his mother for making Alexis cry. "Castle lets go finish up whatever we need to do for dinner and then together we can go up and talk to her." She grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the stairs and into the kitchen.

They began finishing up dinner and were almost done when he spoke, "Why does she have to do that?" Kate jumped, not expecting his remark because they had been quiet for some time now. Setting down the knife, mainly so she wouldn't hurt herself, she looked at him. His facial expression was almost unreadable.

"I mean, that was how she was when I was a kid, never home and when she was home, she would try to make it up to me, but it wasn't the same, other kids had their moms around, why couldn't mine be like that? Now she's doing it to Alexis and I don't know how much I will be able to take before I kick her out."

"Castle… Rick, you are a good man, can't you just tell your mother that? And Alexis is not completely along, she has you and me," Kate said "She has turned out a fine kid so far, what makes you think that this time will be different?"

"Because besides you, Mother is the only other woman in her life since Meredith left her," Castle answered. That sucker punched Kate in the gut. _Oh yeah duh! That was really stupid. I should have known that. _

Before she could comprehend what she was doing, she ran from the kitchen and up the stairs to Alexis's room and knocked.

"Alexis?" she called softly. Then she heard breathing behind her and saw that it was Castle. The door opened and Alexis beckoned them inside. "Alexis, are you ok?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, Sorry," she mumbled with a small smile on her face but Kate could tell that she was trying to act happier than she was. Kate rolled her eyes before she went over to hug her. "No you're not." Alexis wrapped her arms around her and although Kate couldn't see her face, she knew that the girl was crying. Suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around her and Alexis and unmistakably they belonged to Castle. They stood there for a minute until Alexis shifted in her arms. She felt Castle's arms retreat before she placed her arms on the girl's shoulders. A wide smile had spread across her face, and Kate knew that she was ok. Together they went down stairs to eat the dinner that all of them had made.

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After dinner, Castle cleaned up while Kate and Alexis both sat on the couch massaging their bellies.

"That was way too good Alexis," she proclaimed looking at the red head.

"Thanks Kate," Alexis grinned looking at her. They laughed and she heard footsteps coming towards them. She looked and there was Castle, balancing three cups in his hands. She moved to get up but Castle said "You stay sitting missy, I got this," he said setting down one of the cups and handing the other two to them. After putting the DVD into the player he sat down next to her, and pushed the play button.

XXXXXXX

A couple of hours later after stifeling several yawns, Alexis quietly stated, "I am going to bed. Night dad. Night Kate." Suddenly realizing that Kate was asleep, Alexis grabbed a blanket and placed it over her. Castle smiled at his daughter. "Good night Pumpkin," he said watching her go up the stairs.

Castle looked at the sleeping Kate whose head was on his shoulder. Realizing that he could not move without disturbing her, he leaned back, put his feet up onto the table and grasped her hand. He knew that she would be furious when she woke up but he didn't care.

_She looks so peaceful. I wish I could be with her always. She is the most extraordinary woman in so many ways. There is so many things that she doesn't know how grateful I am to have her by my side. For one thing I wouldn't have my next set of novels._ He chuckled at that thought. _And for another I wouldn't have known how to calm down Alexis tonight. I wish I could have had the courage to ask her out before Demming could have. But I was too late, and because of that, I went back to Gina making this the worst summer of my life. I was so happy when I came back. I was going to see her again. For now I can watch her from a distance with Demming. I can hide my feelings for her and make little gestures of my affection. All the while, continuing to wait for the opportune moment to make her mine forever. _

He kissed her forehead before falling asleep, dreaming of the time when he and Kate would be together becuase in dreams anything is possible.

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So you all like? I added some of Castle's thoughts but mainly the thoughts are going to be from Kate with the occasional Castle thoughts. What he does know is that he has feelings for her (can I hear a woot?). Hopefully I will keep posting at a constant rate like this. But in order to do that, you as a reader need to press that review button down there… Please?


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